PHILADELPHIA — Injuries have put Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer on the prowl for starting pitching.
“You just immediately feel sorry for the player, but then you just process like, ‘Who’s up next?’ ” Hoyer said before the game Wednesday against the Phillies. “You have to move on quick mentally. It sounds cold-hearted, but that’s the nature of the job. The games go on, you have to find replacements.”
Cubs manager Craig Counsell announced that right-handed reliever Porter Hodge suffered a setback recovering from a flexor strain and will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament. He began the season on the 15-day injured list and was seen as a player who could help the team.
Hodge, whom the Cubs thought could rebound from a rough 2025 season (6.27 ERA), now joins promising right-hander Cade Horton as pitchers lost for the season. Hoyer said that Hodge felt some discomfort early in spring training.
With relievers Ethan Roberts (middle finger laceration), Hunter Harvey (right triceps) and Phil Maton (knee) all sidelined, the Cubs’ bullpen has become increasingly unbalanced with an unusually large number of left-handers. Given the sheer number of injuries, it’s fair to wonder if the Cubs are assessing their own pitching processes.
“You have to take a look because you wouldn’t be doing your job if you didn’t,” Hoyer said. “A lot of guys go down these days. Guys throw so unbelievably hard, but we’ll do a deep dive and see if there’s a commonality to the injuries.”
Entering Wednesday, Cubs relievers had the 15th-best ERA in baseball (4.04). Left-hander Riley Martin has helped the Cubs survive this stretch (4„ scoreless innings).
Hoyer said that the club is looking at the injuries as an opportunity for others to emerge. Hodge wasn’t on the Cubs’ radar early in the 2024 season, but he received a chance to show how he could deliver in the majors and ran with it (1.88 ERA).
“There’s opportunities being created for guys,” Counsell said. “Through this process, we’re going to find some guys that are going to help us this year, and so that’s how you’ve got to look at it. That’s a great thing. That’s a positive out of all this.”
The offense’s improvement also should help the pitching staff. The way hitters were aggressive and opportunistic in Tuesday’s 10-4 win over the Phillies is how many envisioned the offense before the season. Right-hander Colin Rea, who pitched six innings and allowed three runs, said the offensive production made it easier for him to pitch.
“Somehow, our run-scoring numbers aren’t that bad,” Hoyer said. “But I think [when] we look up and down the lineup, you have so many guys that are so far below career norms, especially in [slugging] — I look at it as a real opportunity. I’m almost excited about it because we’re 17 games in [and] only a couple guys are sort of above their projections.”
As the offense finds its footing, Hoyer has to survey the market for capable replacements.
“The schedule’s not gonna stop,” Hoyer said. “We gotta find ways to come up with new guys and come up with real options. Hopefully, some of those guys can step up.”
